Contents

History

A Paint Lick Station was referred to in military dispatches as early as 1780. tract belonging to George Lewis. The trading post was purchased by the Carolinian Rev. Dalton Ray Chandler II in 1812 and laid out as the town of Paint Lick Station in 1826. The town was formally established under that name in 1834, although the post office was probably named Paint Creek. It was incorporated as a city under its present name of Paintsville in 1843, the same year it became the seat of Johnson County.

The Civil War found Johnson County Fiscal Court passing an ordinance barring both Union and Confederate flags from being flown in its jurisdiction. This was quickly repealed when then-Col. James A. Garfield marched his brigade into the city.

During the early Twentieth Century, Paintsville began to transform into a modern American city. In 1902, the city's first bank – First National – opened for business. In 1906, the city received telephone service and, two years later, all of its streets were paved. In 1912, Paintsville received electricity and natural gas services. In 1926, Paintsville residents received public water and the city's fire department was established.

Since the 1990s, Paintsville has seen a steady loss of population (4,345 in 1990 to 3,459 in 2010), in part due to a downturn in the economy, and the loss of coal jobs. Despite this, there have been some business developments in the past few years, as well as growing tourist interest. Paintsville has been in the process of revitalizing the downtown area in order to rejuvenate its original business district. On June 9, 2009, Paintsville became a "wet" city for the first time since March 14, 1945, permitting stores located within the city limits to sell alcoholic beverages.

Geography

The Levisa Fork River in Paintsville

Paintsville is located at (37.811324, -82.806780) in the bottomland at the confluence of Paint Creek and the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River amid the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in the Cumberland Plateau. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (14 km2), all of it land.

Cityscape

Beginning in 1976, Paintsville's main shopping district has gradually moved from Main Street to Mayo Plaza, which is northwest of downtown. Stores such as Wal-Mart and Lowe's opened in the plaza during the early 1990s. This proved to be too much competition for the small family owned businesses in downtown causing them to close. Today, downtown mostly serves as Paintsville's financial district. But, in May 2009 Paintsville received a grant to redevelop Main Street in hopes of making it one of the city's popular shopping districts again. In recent years, Mayo Plaza has rapidly expanded. In the early 2000s, a new Wal-Mart Supercenter, a new Lowe's, and multiple restaurants have opened.

Climate

Paintsville is located in a transition area between a humid subtropical climate (KöppenDfa) and a humid continental climate (KöppenCfa). Summers are hot and humid with frequent severe storms. July is the warmest month, with an average high 89 °F (32 °C) and an average low of 66 °F (19 °C). Winters are cold with occasional mild periods. January is the coldest month with an average high of 44 °F (7 °C) and an average low of 24 °F (-4 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 105 °F (41 °C) in 1988 and the lowest recorded temperature was -26 °F (-13 °C) in 1994. May has the highest average rainfall (4.54 inches) and October has the lowest average rainfall (2.97 inches).

As of the census of 2010, there were 3,459 people, 1,604 households, and 856 families residing in the city. The population density was 1300.1 people per square mile. There were 1,844 housing units at an average density of 693.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 99.3% White, 0.3% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 0.2% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.4% of the population.

In the city, the population was spread out with 20.5% under 19, 6.1% from 20 to 24, 11.0% from 25 to 34, 11.9% from 35 to 44, 15.1% from 45 to 54, 14.4% from 55 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 or older. The median age is 41.9 years. There were 1,574 males and 1,885 females.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,259, and the median income for a family was $30,575. Males had a median income of $30,478 versus $25,640 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,876. About 21.0% of families and 29.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.9% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Mayo Mansion

U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum

Mayo Memorial United Methodist Church

Paintsville First National Bank

First United Methodist Church

Festivals

The Kentucky Apple Festival has been held in Paintsville annually since 1962. Events include live music, carnival rides, a pageant, various competitions, a parade, and a car show. The festival occurs annually on the first full weekend in October.

The Awaken Conference, an annual Christian concert event, attracting thousands of people to the area every year is held each July in the city.

Paintsville also holds a Spring Fling on Main Street in May.

Museums and historical sites

Main pages: U.S. 23 Country Music Highway Museum, Mayo Mansion, and Mayo Memorial United Methodist Church (Paintsville, Kentucky)

The U.S. 23 County Music Highway Museum gives information on the country music entertainers who grew up near U.S. 23 in Eastern Kentucky. Country music entertainers profiled in the museum such as Loretta Lynn, Crystal Gayle, and Hylo Brown.

The historic Mayo Mansion was built for John C. C. Mayo between 1905 and 1912. It now serves as Our Lady of the Mountains School.

The Mayo Memorial United Methodist Church was designed by one hundred Italian masons hired by John C. C. Mayo. It has several stain glass windows and has a pipe organ donated by Andrew Carnegie. The first church service was in the fall of 1909.

Recreation

Main page: Paintsville Country Club

The Paintsville Country Club includes an 18-hole golf course established on September 27, 1929, making it one of the oldest golf courses in Eastern Kentucky. The country club was built in 1930 by the WPA and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Paintsville Recreation Center contains a volleyball court, a basketball court, a walking track, and a playground.

Media

Main page: The Paintsville Herald

The Paintsville Herald is a bi-weekly newspaper printed on Wednesday and Friday with a circulation of about 5,200 copies. The newspaper serves Paintsville and the surrounding area.

Call Sign

Frequency

Format

WKLW

94.7 FM

Hot AC

WSIP

98.9 FM

Country

WSIP

1490 AM

News/Talk

WKYH

600 AM

News/Talk

WQHY

95.5 FM

Top 40

Transportation

Roads

U.S. Route 23 serves as the bypass for Paintsville. The four-lane divided highway links Paintsville to Interstate 64 to the north and U.S. Route 119 and Kentucky Route 80 to the south. U.S. Route 460 links Paintsville to the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway in Salyersville. Kentucky Route 40 forms both Euclid Avenue and Third Street in Paintsville. It links the city to Inez and also serves as an alternative route to Salyersville. Kentucky Route 321, locally known as South Mayo Trail, serves as the city's main business route and passes through Mayo Plaza.

Air

Located southeast of Paintsville in neighboring Martin County is Big Sandy Regional Airport. The publicly owned, private-use airport is used for general aviation. Its main runway is 5,000 ft (1,524 m) long.

The nearest airport that provides commercial aviation services is Tri-State Airport, which is located 55 miles (89 km) northeast in Ceredo, West Virginia.

Popular culture

The majority of the 1983 film Kentucky Woman was filmed in Paintsville.

Paintsville was one of the three filming locations for the 2010 drama film, Passenger Pigeons.

ESPN's "The Season: Bluegrass Basketball" featured Paintsville and Johnson Central as one of the states most heated rivalries where a basketball game is filmed at Paintsville when the two met in regular season match-up.